Unlock Your Creative Side

Let’s go a little macro for a minute. What is the purpose of a slide?

Presentations are different from speeches solely because they involve the presence of visuals. What is it about the scenarios in which we’re delivering presentations instead of speeches that calls for visual aid? Is it not, most basically, an acknowledgment that the particular ideas we’re putting forth require a little extra communicative help (whereas a speech relies almost entirely on pathos—the emotional connection)?

So why, then, are so many presentation slides so visually offensive? We see charts that could bewilder a statistician. We see clipart that even children would know detracts from, rather than adds to, the content of the presentation. We see imagery whose symbolism doesn’t even remotely line up with the point of the message. In short, we see an army of well-intentioned presenters struggling with this concept of visual aids, so we thought we’d offer a few pointers.

Businesspeople don’t often give themselves credit for being creative, but so often that’s mainly because their responsibilities don’t afford the luxury. Here are some simple ways to unlock the creativity within you and turn that pumpkin deck into a chariot:

1. Believe that creativity is profitability. If you view creativity, particularly of the aesthetic variety, as superfluous and non-essential, you will never tap into a creative side. That is the kiss of death for all creative exploits. Unlocking creativity begins with a fundamental acknowledgment that it has worth—more pointedly, that it can drive profitability.

2. Embrace the process (again and again). Almost every cinematic depiction of the creative process involves a scene of the artist trashing work over and over and over. We’ve all seen the imagery of the writer tossing wadded up paper ball after wadded up paper ball into the trash. When you start deploying creativity in your decks, you’re going to find that creativity has it’s own momentum, which builds. Your 15th slide will have more creative punch than the 1st, and that’s going to bug you. Be willing to circle back around and apply the creative direction you found midway through to the beginnings. Be willing to do it three times, or four. Each pass is an improvement in communicative power, not a waste of time. Embrace the process.

3. Take a step back. Like an artist stepping back from a painting, creativity requires a willingness to experiment with different perspectives. Step back from your slides, both literally and figuratively. Ask yourself, “Does this resonate with and reinforce my point?” at every stage. If a slide doesn’t carry any water, trash it. Do it over or just don’t have a slide for that concept. It’s not a picture show for the audience; it’s a visual aid. Always be stepping back and self-assessing.

4. Examine the elements. Creativity drowns when status quo prevails. Examine the basic visual elements, and be willing to experiment. A slide consists of a background, some kind of visual (chart, graph, picture) and text (headers, bullets, etc.). But can the background be a huge image? Yes! Can a chart be made up of key words? Sure! Can text be imagery?  You betcha! You may not decide to do any of these things, but simply throwing off convention will help you tap into the creative ideas that are available to you.

So much of the creative process is tinkering with our own ways of seeing the world. The more expansive we can be with our thought processes and understanding of others, the more effective our creative work will be.



Question: How could a more creative approach make your presentations more powerful?





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